Clients’ understanding is crucial to successful insurance sales

Posted on: Friday, April 19, 2013

When insurance customers reach a certain age that they themselves have settled on or because they were prompted to by others, they'll often go out and purchase coverage for their retirement, as they will need to have some type of financial device in place in order for them to maintain their cost of living.

But as indicated by Sam Friedman, research team leader for Deloitte's Center for Financial Services, a considerable number of retirees limit themselves to what they purchase mainly because they're not familiar with what's available.

Several polls indicate as such. Friedman pointed to a recent poll that was conducted by the risk management firm, which found that 40 percent of individuals over the age of 55 didn't know anything about annuities, what they provided or how they worked. In addition one in every four retirees has a rudimentary understanding of what they can do to improve their income levels after they leave the workforce.

The best solution to this problem, according to Friedman, is to rebrand products so that they're more attractive to customers. In other words, if a certain strategy has always been used to entice people to buy, it may be time to adopt a new action plan to see if it resonates.

It's also important to try and get a feel for the customer and what explanations work. For example, some people may want to know every minute detail of a policy, while others want a basic understanding of it all, focused more on the big picture than the parts that make up the whole.

It's unwise for insurance agents to assume that their customers will come to them seeking their advice. Professionals have to initiate these meetings. According to a recent poll conducted by LIMRA, major life events - such as a death in the family, having a child or getting married - rarely result in life insurance buys.